Hanxiao Mao

Hanxiao Mao is a product designer based in London and China.

During RCA 2-year Deign Product MA study, she explored broad interests in different fields with learning new techniques and challenges, and critically explores ethics from politics, society, technology and humanity itself. In her opinion, design is like building “bridges" constantly, from objects to people, and from people to the next level. That's the beauty of design.

Exhibition

London Craft Week, The future of Craft, 'Machine's Improvisation', 2022

WIP Show, Royal College of Art, 2022 ;

In 1930, Keynes made a famous prediction, "after one hundred years, the working week would be dramatically cut to perhaps 15 hours a week", because machines will take people's jobs, "with people choosing to have far more leisure as their material needs were satisfied."

One hundred years later, however, we need to spend more time working, such as 996. Or even, do we become labour machines that don't stop repetitive working?

In politics, some employment or job-creation means seem to alleviate social and economic problems, but in fact, they transfer the dilemma to people's spiritual life. More and more people fall into a kind of nihilism of work -- assembly line of life and meaningless repetitive labor are killing people's passion for life, so that people lose the courage to escape, and namely trapped in the vicious circle of work.

We are now on the eve of the possible mass displacement of labor by artificial intelligence, and the nihilism of work ethics has reached midnight, but we cannot drown in pessimism.

Change must come. It must come.

Are We Becoming Labour Machines? – A worker fills out lots of meaningless forms and does repetitive work, like a screw in a big machine. "Labour machine index test" shows that he is a 100% LABOUR MACHINE.

Repetitive work of MACHINE and HUMAN – Are humans more like machines? Or are machines more like humans?

Regular, repetitive sounds may not only be produced by machines.

The pursuit of high efficiency in social development makes people responsible for only a small part of the work and full of repetition, like a screw in a big machine. By converting repetitive labor into sound loop of musical instruments, this project could give something new about people’s meaningless repetitive works. People could try out “the labour machine index test” to find out if they are the machine with high efficiency.

Repetition, regularity. Generated sound loop tricks, unveils and emphasise the absurdity and nihilism of employment in current era.

It's humorous, dark, and deeply ironic.

Medium:

Mix Media

Size:

2 minutes 14 seconds

Music Box – It allows people to place touch keypads on their workstation, and people could play music sound through body movements in their working. Because of repetitive movements, the sound is often a loop or repeated sound.

Interactions with Music Box – Different ways of interactions and functions allow people to explore more possibilities of converting music. Have fun!

Put Mini Keypads – Place them anywhere on your working area!

Components & Functions

Mini Keypads

Music Mode & Music Logic

Using Process & Music Generated

Guidebook to Short Escape From Bullsxxt Work – Guidebook and stickers

Guidebook General View

Why we have this brochure – The prospects of young people in works are pretty bleak.

Don't let bullsxxt work makes you unhappy – Whatever happens, just roll with it~

Labour Machine Index Test – "Are you becoming a labour machine?" Try out “the labour machine index test” with generated music to find out if you are the machine with high efficiency.

PDF: Guidebook to Short Escape from Bullsxxt Work

Launch Project

Click "Launch Project" to enter it and explore more!

How Design Impact – This flow chart can logically show the interaction and influence of each part in the design project.

Sound is powerful.

Sound can say anything.

Generated sound is an abstract expression to present the substance of people’s work. Instagram will act as Sonic Union to show the music sounds generated by different people's works and people's attitudes towards work.

These will also serve as evidence put in front of the co-operative Labour Unions and organisations to push for changes in social rules and making wider social impacts. So far, the project has partnered with two labour unions or organisations.

Medium:

Instagram

Hanxiao Mao

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Social

About

Royal College of Art